Chapter 372 The first round of the playoffs against Doncic
Speaking of which, Antetokounmpo is really unlucky.
If it weren't for Wang Feng, he would have won the first regular season MVP trophy in his career last season and completed the defense of the title this season, becoming one of the few top stars in history to win two consecutive MVP awards.
However, due to Wang Feng's unexpected breakthrough, he not only snatched his first regular season MVP, but now there is a great possibility of losing this second trophy.
There is no way, who makes Antetokounmpo fall behind Wang Feng in all aspects?
In terms of scoring, 29.7 vs 35.4.
In terms of shooting percentage, both of them are around 55%.
Antetokounmpo has a slight site advantage in rebounding. 14 rebounds is 1.3 more than 12.7, but who cares about these 1.3 rebounds?
When it comes to assists, the gap between the two sides is immediately apparent.
Antetokounmpo's ability to connect assists is actually not bad. As a big player with a height of 2.11 meters, he can average close to 6 assists per game, which is definitely above the average level.
But this is undoubtedly much inferior to Wang Feng's average of 10.4 assists per game.
What's even more terrible is that Wang Feng averaged 10.4 assists per game and only averaged about 3.3 turnovers per game, while Antetokounmpo averaged 5.6 assists but averaged 3.7 turnovers per game. The two sides' organizational skills are very good.
The personal data is not comparable, and the team record is not as good either.
After all the calculations, Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo’s only advantage is Wang Feng’s background of having won two consecutive regular season MVPs.
Looking at the history of the league, only three people have achieved the achievement of three consecutive regular season MVPs, namely Bill Russell from the 1960-63 season, Wilt Chamberlain from the 1965-68 season and Larry from the 1983-86 season.
Byrd.
Even as strong as Michael Jordan, he only won two consecutive MVP awards out of five.
And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has won the most regular season MVPs in history, has won six regular season MVPs and has also not achieved three consecutive MVPs.
Will the league allow a Chinese player like Wang Feng to win three consecutive MVP awards? This is indeed a big question mark.
…
No matter what, the regular season ends, the records of the Eastern and Western teams are determined, and the rosters for the playoffs are also generated.
Wang Feng has traveled through many years, and the butterfly effect has almost completely destroyed the original historical process.
The epidemic did not occur, and there were no shortened seasons or play-offs affected by the epidemic.
In the Western Conference, the 66-win Lakers undoubtedly hold the top spot in the Western Conference.
In addition to Wang Feng, who averages a triple-double per game, the Lakers' performances by Butler and Ingram are also eye-catching.
Among them, Butler averaged 23.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. His performance was far better than last season, and he fully assumed the responsibility of the team's second leader.
And Ingram has gained more ball rights this season, and he has not disappointed. He averaged 20.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, and shot 44% from the field. As the team's third offensive point, his performance is remarkable.
points, and people are looking forward to its performance after further growth.
In addition to the Big Three, the Lakers also scored in double figures with Kuzma and Lopez, who also started. However, compared with last season, the Lakers' bench scoring dropped a lot, and no one on the bench scored in double figures.
But this is inevitable. The Lakers' five starting players have averaged 102 points per game in total, occupying a large number of shots and ball rights. There are not many opportunities for substitute players to perform. The only ones who perform slightly better are like
A blue-collar player like Howard is mainly responsible for protecting rebounds and defending the frame on the court.
The rest, such as Jordan Poole, who was newly selected to the team, Jordan Clarkson, who has an annual salary of tens of millions, and Seth Curry, did not perform well.
The second-best record in the Western Conference is the Los Angeles Clippers with 59 wins.
The partnership of James + Leonard is indeed extremely strong, not inferior to the James + Davis combination of the Lakers in another season.
James averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game, while Leonard averaged 27.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game. The two forwards complemented each other, and together with Lou Williams, who averaged 18.7 points per game, the Clippers achieved the second record in the Western Conference.
Ranking third in the Western Conference is the Golden State Warriors with 55 wins.
This season, the Warriors only have the old three giants, Curry, Thompson and Green, but the butterfly effect has led to the health of all members, and the Warriors have still maintained a good competitiveness.
Curry, who occupies a large amount of the ball, had the best performance of his career, averaging 31.2 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists per game, shooting 48% from the field, ranking third in the scoring list, second only to Wang Feng, who averaged 35.4 points per game, and James, who averaged 34 points per game.
.Harden.
Thompson also averaged a career-high 25.5 points per game.
The only one with a hip problem is Green. With his offensive ability constantly weakening, Green has done nothing on the offensive end. He is also not very good at dealing cards from the top arc. He often has a brain-twitching performance on the court. The only one who can make a difference is
Active pressing defensive ability.
His averages per game were 8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists, with a shooting percentage of 38.9%.
Fourth in the Western Conference are the Denver Nuggets with 51 wins, and Nikola Jokic has finally begun to rise.
Although the data of 24.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7 assists per game are slightly different from those in another time and space, the strength is indeed quite strong.
From fifth to eighth in the Western Conference, they are the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
As a result, the first-round matchups in the Western Conference are Lakers VS Mavericks, Clippers VS Rockets, Warriors VS Thunder, and Nuggets VS Jazz.
The Eastern Conference matchups on the other side are the Milwaukee Bucks, who are first in the Eastern Conference, and the Orlando Magic, who are eighth.
The second-placed Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference VS the seventh-placed Miami Heat.
The third-placed Toronto Rams in the Eastern Conference vs. the sixth-placed Indiana Pacers.
The fourth-place Boston Celtics VS the fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers.
…
The Lakers' opponent in the first round of the playoffs is the Mavericks, and there is no suspense in this matchup.
The Mavericks' current lineup is a dual-core configuration, with Luka Doncic partnering with Porzingis.
The two's regular season statistics were 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds respectively. They looked pretty good, but the team's third scoring point was Tim Hardaway II who averaged 15.8 points per game.
The gap in lineup strength is very obvious.
And among the three main players, only Tim Hardaway II has playoff experience, which was with the Hawks in the 16 and 17 seasons.
Compared to the Lakers, the Mavericks are still too young.
In addition, the core of the Mavericks is Luka Doncic, who serves as a shooting guard and small forward. Wang Feng and Butler are both well-known defensive players at the forward position, and can very well contain Doncic on the court.
play.
In the eyes of the vast majority of fans and media, there will not be much suspense in this series, and the Lakers will definitely win by a big score.
This is also true.
On April 13, the opening games of the first round of the playoffs began one after another.
The Lakers faced the challenge of the eighth-ranked Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference at their home Staples Center and successfully won a 117:102 start.
Wang Feng, who had just won the scoring title and assist title, performed well, scoring a triple-double of 40 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Ingram scored 21 points and Butler 16 points.
As for the Mavericks, Porzingis scored a team-high 26 points on 7 of 16 shots. However, the team's star Doncic, under the care of two old hooligans Wang Feng and Butler, performed abnormally. 20
He made only 6 shots, scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and had 5 turnovers.
Doncic, who participated in the playoffs for the first time in his career, deeply felt the malice coming from the playoffs.
But after all, he is a rising star in the future league. Although he encountered strict defense in the first game, in the second game, Doncic quickly adjusted and scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
Double data.
It's a pity that the luxurious statistics can't prevent the team from losing the game.
There is no way, who can give the Lakers a bigger brush than Doncic?
That is, after scoring a triple-double of 40+11+12 in the first game, Wang Feng once again scored a triple-double of 36+12+16 in the second game. He sent out 16 assists in a single game while only making 5 turnovers.
Two clean wins brought the total score of the two teams to 2:0.
Doncic's strong rebound in the second game surprised many media. They did not expect that Doncic could perform such an outstanding performance under the test of Wang Feng and Butler.
On the contrary, Wang Feng was not very surprised.
In another time and space, Doncic, who made it to the playoffs for the first time, faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. At that time, the Clippers' front line was a combination of Leonard + George, and their defensive ability was no less than that of Wang Feng +
Butler.
But even in the face of such a powerful combination, Doncic still averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 6 games, shooting 50% from the field, and his performance was even better than Leonard.
What's more worth mentioning is that in the following 20-21 season, the Mavericks and Clippers met again in the first round. Doncic showed even stronger dominance, averaging 35.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game.
His strength dragged Pisa into the tiebreaker, and they fought the Clippers for seven bloody games before finally losing with regret.
Encountering a tough match against the Clippers in the playoffs in two seasons not only demonstrated Doncic's personal strength, but also greatly honed Doncic's strength. After all, his opponents in the playoffs were Leonard and George.
For such a top defender, even if he doesn't win, Doncic's experience points will skyrocket.
The current game between the Mavericks and the Lakers is actually in a similar situation.
But Wang Feng is not worried. No matter how fast Dongcic's experience increases, will he gain it quickly if there is cheating?
The future does not belong to Dongcic, but to Wang Feng, and not only the future, but also the present belongs to him!
On April 18, the third game of the series returned to Dallas, the home of the Mavericks. Fans came in droves, eagerly anticipating that the Mavericks could win the game.
But the result was the Lakers 132:105, a 27-point victory at the Mavericks' home court.
Wang Feng had 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He clocked out early before the end of the three quarters.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 points.
The one who performs the most is Ingram, a young player who is similar in age to Doncic and one draft pick higher. He has played in the league for two more seasons than Doncic, but now their status in the world is extremely different.
Different places.
Doncic is already the core leader of a team. He has played in the All-Star Game as an All-Star starter and has been placed on the same level as Wang Feng, James, Leonard, Durant and Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo.
discuss.
But Ingram is still the potential player that the team regards as their future hope...
This contrast made Ingram very unhappy.
If you smash it, it will make you look awesome, right?
In the G3 series, Ingram, who was feeling particularly unhappy, exploded.
In the whole game, he made 11 of 16 shots, 8 of 12 three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws, scoring 38 points efficiently.
The sudden and somewhat unprepared powerful scoring points made the Lakers win the game easily. Even if Doncic scored another 30+10+10 quasi-triple-double, it could not prevent the Mavericks from being completely defeated.
At the end of this game, the total score of the two teams has reached 3:0, and there is no suspense at all.
In the fourth game of the series, the Mavericks, free of pressure and baggage, completely let themselves go and played very unrestrainedly. Doncic, Porzingis and others all performed well, especially Doncic, who scored 40+ points.
point.
The Lakers were forced to scramble for a while, especially Ingram, who was so good in the last game, as if he had let go of his big move and entered a period of weakness. His touch was ridiculously poor, and he only made 5 of 15 shots.
When the game entered the fourth quarter, the Lakers even trailed the Mavericks by more than double digits.
The Mavericks are already very close to their first win in this playoffs.
But Wang Feng didn't want to cause trouble.
In the fourth quarter of the game, he broke out strongly, especially in the last 2 minutes, Wang Feng, who activated the key shooter, hit consecutive shots, scored 11 points, directly tied the game and made a buzzer-beater, killing the Mavericks' victory in the cradle.
The game score was 117:116, and the total score was 4:0. The Lakers completed the sweep of the Mavericks and easily entered the second round.
Doncic averaged 29 points, 7.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists in 4 games, with a shooting percentage of 47%. His performance was quite impressive. Considering that this was only the first time in his career that he participated in the playoffs, the future is promising.
At least the management of the Dallas Mavericks is very satisfied with Doncic's performance and looks forward to his further growth in the future.
As for the Lakers, Wang Feng has still steadily contributed a triple-double in 4 games.
34.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.2 assists. Although the scoring dropped slightly compared to the regular season, it was still a terrifying 30+10+10 triple-double data, impeccable.
Doncic may represent the future of the Mavericks, but Wang Feng represents the present of the Lakers!